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In our 21 years, we have opened more than 140 informal schools,
educated nearly 22,000 Street kids and tackled the Governments
of 8 countries about their failure to educate these children
on their own. One positive change we have witnessed - without
claiming over much credit ourselves – is that the Ministry
of Education in Peru now has its own chain of informal schools
for Street Kids throughout the entire country. Three other
Governments, with whom we made of ourselves nuisances, have
improved their educational offering to their street kids,
but none so well as Peru. We dearly hope all these countries
will carry on until they reach a similar happy conclusion
for their poorest children.
'OUR BACK STORY': In the year 2000 we converted our 25 year
old NGO into what we hoped would be a social battering ram
that we could use to bang against South American Governments
which we had discovered were failing to educate the poorest
quarter of their children. Perhaps worse, they were all covering
it up, so that activist individuals and organisations which
should have advocated for these millions of poor children,
could not even know they needed this type of help. [For example,
Peru was in the habit of claiming year after year that 96%
of its children were in school. And UNICEF perpetuated this
myth by publishing the same 96% statistic in its regular annual
report for South America].
We registered our little NGO in various Latin American countries,
and as soon as we were able: presented our evidence about
overlooked Street Kids to the Minister of Education and the
Minister for Women, in Lima. They rejected our facts out of
hand and sent us away.
When we started in Peru the Press took a disproportionate
interest in us and what we were doing. So we gave two interviews
where we outlined what we had discovered, and its implications
for Peruvian society and Street Kids in particular. These
became front page stories in the leading periodicals.
Soon after a Lieutenant in the National Police let us know
that if we continued to pursue our troublesome course, our
NGO would have its accreditation lifted and we could be asked
to leave the country.
Faced with this we delayed the direct confrontation campaign,
in favour of operating our own chain of informal free schools
for Street kids; this, to gain hands on experience and gather
more evidence: all in the cause of getting the Govt to do
better for the poorest children.
We opened first in Trujillo, then Lima and during the next
four years we opened schools throughout the country. Eventually,
throughout most of South America.
Street kids, we found, are relatively easy to recruit and
enrol, and before long we could demonstrate that the poorest
children (so long as they are not on drugs) are as easy to
educate as the rest of the population. And we duly reported
this. But the Ministry of Education remained deaf to our claims.
We therefore presented our findings to members of the Legislature.
But they too rebuffed us.
In desperation we took our case back to the press and spoke
at universities. We invited all to either confirm or refute
our findings. They responded positively. At last someone was
listening. Soon universities were able to add their own voices
to our claim that a quarter of Peru's children failed to receive
education from he State. And the Press helped make this a
'Cause Celeb'.
The Government remained above this as much as they could.
So we, with reporters and university students behind us, rallied
our children, teachers and volunteers for a march on the National
Legislature. When we arrived a number of congressmen came
out of the chamber, and with TV cameras rolling and reporters
interviewing: signed our petition, demanding equal education
for all Peruvian Children.
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Video of a typical Bruce Org School
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